‘Better to have no rice than to be outclassed’: Why a customised minivan is a coveted ride in Indonesia’s Manado

MANADO, Indonesia: As soon as the sun dips below the horizon, the streets of Manado City, Indonesia come alive with flashes of colourful LED lights and the ear-splitting beat of electronic dance music.

The source of this exuberance and excitement – some say commotion – may come as a surprise to outsiders but to Manado’s 423,000 inhabitants, they can only come from one thing: The city’s public minivans.

“In Manado, people will not hop on board if there is no audio system (inside our minivans) … Audio system is a must in Manado. People say it’s no fun without an audio (system),” public minivan driver Steriandi Panambunan, 31, told CNA.

While many view these visually and aurally loud minivans as moving pieces of art and embrace them as what makes Manado unique, there are those who see them as a nuisance.

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The latter includes city officials who believe that these minivans are disturbing public order and constantly try to clamp down on these vehicles for violating road safety regulations.

LAMBORGHINI-INSPIRED SCISSORS DOORS

According to government data, there are close to 1,900 public minivans operating in Manado of which drivers and locals estimate that between 50 and 70 per cent are customised.

Evidence of this can be found on Jalan Suprapto, a street which cuts through one of the city’s busiest shopping districts, Pasar 45.

There, dozens of minivans compete to attract potential passengers as they emerge from nearby shops and restaurants.

They do this by enticing the passengers’ eyes and ears, turning the four-lane street into an impromptu car show.

Most adorn their vehicles with flashing LED lights to light up their cabins and undercarriages with every possible colour of the rainbow. Others have custom paint jobs airbrushed on top of the minivans’ standard sky-blue exterior.

Some drivers equip their vehicles with wide wheels and white wall tires while others choose to pamper their passengers with reclinable bucket seats.

Then there are those who take things further by installing sunroofs and Lamborghini-inspired scissor doors. Almost all have audio systems powerful enough to be heard from hundreds of metres away.

“There are customised minivans in other areas (in Indonesia) too, but not as widespread as in Manado,” minivan driver Rendo Tumelap, 25, told CNA.

Having a customised minivan is a source of pride and an avenue for self-expression for drivers in Manado.

There are even regular contests organised by automotive clubs and shops with cash prizes, trophies and more importantly bragging rights to see which minivan had the best audio system and the most captivating paint job.

NO EXPENSES SPARED

Thousands of people in Manado rely on minivans, known locally to city-dwellers as “mikro”, particularly school children who are not yet eligible to drive their own motorcycles or cars.

Like most Indonesian cities, public minivans are one of the cheapest forms of transport capable of navigating through small roads in densely populated neighbourhoods.

It generally costs 6,000 rupiah (US$0.39) for a single trip.

For decades, drivers in Manado have been trying to personalise their vehicles, all the way back to the days when dashboard cassette players first became popular and widely available in Indonesia in the 1970s and 1980s.

“There is a saying in Manado - ‘better to have no rice than to be outclassed (by others)’,” minivan driver Panambunan said.

“As soon as one driver installs a powerful audio system, there will be another who tries to install an even more powerful audio. The same with paint jobs and other accessories.”

The 31-year-old said he has painted his minivan many times over in a bid to have the best paint job in town. The latest, he said, is a custom airbrush work inspired by his favourite mobile game: PUBG: Battlegrounds.

Having a custom paint job is not for everyone though.

Driver Tumelap said he likes to keep his minivan painted in regulation-mandated sky blue to avoid police scrutiny when he operates during the day.

But at night and in places far away from the prying eyes of the law, he would blast his audio, hidden neatly underneath the front seats, and turn on the many LED lights illuminating both his minivan interior and exterior.

“There are people who are choosy about which minivans to take. Most people like to board the most customised minivans around,” he argued.

But it is the ability to express himself and the pride of having a ride unlike the others, rather than satisfying the needs and wants of his passengers, that keeps him investing more and more money into his vehicle, despite making just around 150,000 rupiah (US$9.8) a day.

“For everything? Around 70 million rupiah (US$4,600),” Tumelap said when asked how much he has spent customising his vehicle over his five years as a public minivan driver.

The sum, he continued, is around twice more than what he paid for his 2005 Suzuki Carry minivan in 2018.

“Having a customised minivan makes you excited about going to work and enduring the long hours on the road,” the 25-year-old said.

A CAT AND MOUSE GAME

Local resident Ryainheart Sulangi is conflicted about how he feels towards the minivans of Manado.

On one hand, he said, they are what makes the city unique, but on the other, he feels that some of these modifications put style over passenger safety.

Mr Sulangi points out instances of packed minivans struggling to climb up the hills with all the weight that comes from the added sound systems.

He also points out how at times shoddily installed rear spoilers and fenders would fall off in the middle of a bumpy road.

“To save costs, these mikro drivers often install these accessories by themselves. They don’t care about the quality of the materials or if they are properly installed at an auto shop because they are all for show,” he told CNA.

Chief of the city’s transportation agency Jeffry Worang said passenger safety and public complaints about the noise they make are some of the main reasons why Manado regularly stages raids against customised minivans.

“Any parts and accessories which do not meet technical requirements for a public minivan, disrupt public order or are hazardous to public safety are strictly forbidden,” he said.

Mr Worang said many of the drivers would take off these modifications and revert their minivans back to their stock condition each time they come in for their biannual roadworthiness inspections.

Thus, a regular raid is needed to keep these unsafe and troublesome modifications off the streets. “If they continue to operate without making necessary changes we will revoke their licenses,” he said.

Minivan driver Panambunan said he and other drivers often inform each other about police and city official raids using Whatsapp groups.

“So the others would make a u-turn or find an alternative route. We look for a safer route to avoid (the raid),” he added.

But minivan driver Rifli Mincelungan, 21, said city officials are becoming aware of this tactic and has begun stationing officers on small back roads as well.

He said he recently had to pay a hefty fine for a host of infractions, which ranges from not having a passenger door, having a pair of side-view mirrors that are too small, and lowering the stance of his minivan.

“(Officials) also confiscated my speakers and tossed them at the side of the road,” he told CNA.

“I’m now saving up so I can buy a new sound system. The school kids love a bit of music on their way to and from school. I myself love a bit of music too.”

For now, the bright lights and loud music continue for Manado’s customised minivans, but with enforcement raids and competition from ride-hailing services, no one is sure when the sun will set on them.